1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a new business method for providing customers with customized textiles, such as apparel including shirts, pants, coats, etc., upholstery for furniture or use in vehicles, bed linens, etc., where the customer can obtain a fabric material that will have a size, style, pattern and color of his or her own choosing, and where the fabric material will be produced for that customer on a one-at-a-time basis. Further, the present invention provides a customer-oriented dyeing apparatus (e.g., a tank or water kettle) which allows the customer to view the textiles he or she is purchasing while they are being dyed to his or her specifications.
2. Background Description
Consumer choice for textile products is currently limited by the number of colors and patterns offered by a store or manufacturer. In the case of clothing, when a customer visits a store and tries on shirt, pants, suit, or other garments of interest, he or she may identify a style (i.e., cut, etc.) that he or she prefers, but may not be able to obtain the garment in a color he or she wants or in a pattern (e.g., faded, striped, etc.) he or she wants. The same is true when ordering garments from a catalog. In the paper or online catalog setting, the customer is presented with various clothing options, and each item may be selected only with a limited number of color and pattern choices. The manner in which other textile products (e.g., bed linens, upholstery, curtains, etc.) are currently marketed have similar shortcomings. What is needed is a way for customers to get exactly the color and pattern they desire, for a garment or other fabric material of interest, and to be able to provide the customer with the garment or other fabric material on a fairly rapid basis. In addition, it would be an advantage to provide a mechanism where the customer could see his or her custom made fabric material during the dyeing operation for educational and entertainment purposes.